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.“If the intelligence provided by your precious Epidime is to be trusted, then that could not possibly have been the Chosen One's dragon.She traveled with an infant dragon, the size of a dog.The beast my creatures brought back to me was adolescent if anything, nearly full grown.There can be no confusion on that matter.And as for allowing you to unite them, I warned you not to use the black dragon.It was not a weapon, it was a target! A brute! A blunt instrument! I plucked that beast from nature and shaped it to my needs to serve as fodder for proving my beasts.It was never under control.It was never meant to be controlled.This is on your head.You were the one who wanted an example made of her,” Demont stated.Bagu released a long, angry noise somewhere between sigh and hiss.“Can you track the beast?” he asked.“Faintly, and not at all if she manages to remove the enhancements,” Demont replied.“She will seek to free the others.Have you recovered the soul gem from the other human?” Bagu asked.“The largest piece, yes.”“Kill him.”“We've not yet located the smaller piece.Without his aid-”“Kill him!” Bagu demanded.“.As you wish,” Demont relented.#Elsewhere another figure navigated a large, dimly lit tunnel.There was the overpowering stench of brimstone and a thick coat of soot clung to every surface.Ahead, a faint glow signaled the end of the path.Desmeres approached a nearman, his face undisguised and his hands gripping a staff that marked him as one of the rare spell casting variety.It was guarding a web of bars that crisscrossed the tunnel with no apparent door.After flashing a medallion emblazoned with a handful of indecipherable symbols, the creature gave a nod.The staff was raised and the web seemed to come alive, shifting and twisting like a family of serpents until the way was opened.Twice more he was forced to reveal the medallion and await the parting of bars before he finally reached a large, natural cavern.The air was thick with smells that burned the nose and stung the eyes, and combined with the stifling heat it made it difficult to breathe.A channel had been carved into the stone floor of the cavern from which an ominous red glow radiated.Thin black wisps of evil smelling fumes hinted at what lie at its bottom.The channel formed a ring around an irregular shaped stone spire that jutted up from the molten rock below.Attached to the spire was an assassin.Lain's hands and feet were not secured to the stone.Instead, they seemed to disappear into it, as though the spire had swallowed them and hardened.His head hung limply, his chest painfully drawing in the occasional wheezing breath.The telltale lines of a whip's lash stripped his flesh.Wounds trickled, and blood-soaked bandages cocooned the upper part of his chest and one shoulder.As Desmeres approached the edge of the channel, the head lifted to show faded, cloudy eyes that tried and failed to identify his blurry form.A weak sniff brought nothing but fumes that burned at the lungs.“It is me, Lain.Desmeres,” he said solemnly.Lain's form shuddered almost imperceptibly at the sound of the name.“It.looks as though they have finally found a cell you can't escape from,” he remarked, venturing a peek at the magma shifting along the distant floor of the channel over which Lain hung.A painful breath left Lain.“You and I knew it would end this way for one of us.It will please you to know that you did manage to teach them their lesson.I was paid in full for my services,” Desmeres said.“You won't live long enough to spend it,” Lain wheezed.“No one could live long enough to spend that much gold,” he replied.“Why did you come here?”“We spent seventy years as partners, Lain.I owe you at least a final visit,” Desmeres answered.A raking cough shook Lain.“.the others?” Lain asked.“Captured.All of them,” Desmeres stated.“Although.“Lain's eyes shifted to him.“They don't trust me, Lain.As is to be expected.They only tell me what they think I need to know.Still, it would take a fool to miss the fact that something is going on.Troops are moving, reinforcing forts.It must be the forts where the others are kept.They are all being carefully protected.“ Desmeres explained, stopping suddenly.His eyes turned to a half seen form in the shadows, then to the bandages on Lain's chest.“Everyone except for you.Something has happened and it has got them worried.I've got a feeling that they will soon have a new task for me.Hopefully it will be a few days more before they contact me.I've nearly finished some.items.Things my wife convinced me to make.It would be a shame if they moldered in one of the storehouses rather than finding some use,” Desmeres mused.Lain released another breath and let his head lower once more.“Well.I'd best try to find what there is to find about this final Chosen.I don't suppose we will meet again.Good luck to you,” Desmeres said.He quickly set off, his back tingling with expectation for a blade.#Elsewhere, under a slowly brightening sky, Myranda stirred.Even after a short day and a long night, the black pit of sleep was slow to let the world in.As her mind crept back to her, thoughts clashed.She knew that she was outside, but why was she so warm? She knew that she could scarcely be in any more danger, but why wasn't she afraid? Her eyes opened and beheld the answer.Myn was already awake.She held Myranda carefully against her, all the while keeping a vigilant watch with every available sense.Myranda pushed gently at the grip and the dragon obligingly released it.The shock of cold air that reached her now that she was no longer protected swept the last trace of sleep from her mind.The dragon stood, its head rising to nearly the treetops.As the young wizard's eyes shifted over the unfamiliar features of an old friend, the dragon suddenly remembered that it had been ages since she had performed her most cherished of duties.Instantly she vanished into the woods, heedless of Myranda's calls for her to stop.The enthusiasm of the bounding steps was the first thing, save the eyes, that Myranda truly recognized about her friend.Trees swayed like tall grass, accompanied by a creaking and snapping tumult that retreated quickly into the distance.In barely a moment the earth trembled with Myn's return, a deer clutched in her massive jaws.She dropped it on the ground before Myranda and looked about for a pile of wood to light.Seeing none and growing impatient, she turned to a sizable young tree and, with frightening ease, reduced it to splinters.The act had taken the merest swat of her massive claws.No sooner had the pile of wood settled than a blast of flame set it alight.Myranda looked in awe at the results of Myn's traditional morning errands scaled up to her new size [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]